MINT Aid Program for Tohoku University

MINT Aid Program for Tohoku University

On behalf of the Centre for Materials for Information Technology (MINT) at the University of Alabama, U.S.A., I wish to convey my deepest sympathies to you all who have suffered from the earthquake and tsunami disasters that took place in northern Japan on March 11, 2011. This must be an extremely difficult time for you all, and I hope and pray each day that you will recover from these disasters as quickly as possible.

The MINT Center here at the University of Alabama has had very close collaborations over the years with many of the faculty members at Tohoku University, particularly in the areas of magnetism, magnetic materials, and spintronics. We at the MINT Center realize the severity of the situation there in Sendai, and we have established the MINT Aid Program for Tohoku University (MAPTU). Through this program we wish to invite some of Tohoku University’s junior faculty members to come to the University of Alabama to work alongside our own faculty members here at MINT (Please see the attachment.). The MAPTU program will cover travel and accommodation expenses for participating Tohoku University faculty members for a period of up to four months. I will be very appreciative if you will circulate this letter to appropriate departments.

On a personal matter, I spent many years as a faculty member of Tohoku University in Sendai. Many of my long-time colleagues and close friends are there, and my heart is heavy. The path to recovery for Sendai and for all of Japan will not be easy, but we will continue to hope and pray diligently for all of you who have been affected.

As the Director of the MINT Center, I want you to know that we are here to assist you by all measures. Our thoughts and prayers are with you every day.